Space Wolves
The Space Wolves, known in their own dialect of Juvjk as the Vlka Fenryka or the "Wolves of Fenris", are a formerly Loyalist First Founding Space Marine Legion. Originally the VIth Legion raised by the Emperor at the dawn of the Great Crusade, the Space Wolves were renowned for their anti-authoritarian ways and their embrace of their home world Fenris' savage barbarian culture as well as their extreme deviation from the Principia Belicosa in their Legion's organisation. They quickly garnered a fearsome reputation for its warriors' prowess as a shock-assault force as well as tireless pursuers and a peerless hunter-killer force. Unexpected violence was the Legion's calling card, its campaigns unsubtle, but brutally swift. Under its master and gene-sire Leman Russ, the Space Wolves Legion would reave a bloody path across the stars of the Great Crusade, but never stray far in truth from the shadow of the Emperor. For, unlike their brother Legions, the Space Wolves were kept under the tight control of the Imperial Court and unleashed at the Emperor's command as often to chastise those who would renege on their oaths of service as to destroy those who resisted the offer of Compliance upon the dark frontier. This oft-served role as bloody-handed tool of punishment, coupled with the secret purposes to which the Legion had been used and the Space Wolves' rapidly increasing cultural idiosyncrasy, steadily drove a wedge between the VIth and the other Space Marine Legions as the standard decades of war ground on. Leman Russ' early experiences on Fenris left him with an abiding hatred and suspicion of sorcery, a feeling that was reinforced by what he saw during the Great Crusade. Concerned that the Thousand Son's magicks would lead them to corrupt even the Emperor, the Space Wolves attacked them to avert a worse fate. When Magnus' counter-attack brought them to the brink of destruction, Russ called out to his father for aid, but his pleas were instead answered by Khorne, the Blood God, the bane of all enchantments. The Space Wolves prevailed by giving themselves over to the beast within, revelling in bloodletting and bestial fury. Now, as Khorne's chosen legion, they have turned on the Emperor, who they see as the Arch-Sorcerer. They now slaughter all in their path, taking skulls and trophies from their fallen opponents for the glory of the Blood God. Legion History The Shadow Before the Wolf Much of the early details of the Founding and intake of the VIth Legion remain shrouded under a quite deliberate veil of secrecy woven at the time of their creation, as it is with several of the proto-Legion groupings created in the closing stages of the Unification Wars. Beyond the usual concealment and security that the Emperor chose to surround the Space Marine project with in order to protect the nascent Legiones Astartes, the VI division, along with that of the XVIIIth Legion (that would later become known as the Salamanders) and the XXth Legion (who would become the Alpha Legion), was formed and established largely in separation from the rest, and it is generally thought created to very specific ends. There were none save perhaps a handful of the Emperor's closest and earliest confidants surviving from those lost and bloody days who knew the facts regarding this mysterious 'trefoil' of Legions, as it is sometimes known, and the truth likely died with them. Though in the case of the strains of Astartes that would be known as the Salamanders and the Space Wolves, they varied considerably in gene-forged ability to their peers. This element of mystery surrounding the trefoil proto-Legions can be seen to establish a distance between the three and their brethren, particularly in regards to their earliest intake of Initiates, around which dark rumours circled. In the case of the intake of the VIth Legion, a vast divergence in origin and genotype was clear even to the briefest of observations. Closer study of the evidence that remains indicates that representatives of some of the most barbarically regressive and hyper-violent cultures and outcast groups of pre-Unification Terra were chosen to found the Legion, though with such diversity that selection appeared to have been taken on an individual-by-individual basis rather than to invoke or capitalise on any single strain of warrior society. So it was that while certain proto-Legions, such as the Xth (later the Iron Hands) and the XVth (later known as the Thousand Sons), held strong cultural imprints from Terra's subjected warlord-empires, the nascent VIth was almost a blank slate. Instead, what bonded it together was its training in isolation as a coherent military force under the direction of the Strategos of the Emperor's inner circle. What also made the VIth singular was the unique nature of its gene-seed, although what separated it from the other proto-Legions was not yet apparent to outsiders. Evidence further indicates that the VIth Legion's passage between stages of expansion was slower than many of its peers, slower perhaps in its first years than any save the XXth Legion's, whose strange and obscured origins are the subject of another record. In retrospect this is likely to have been because of the high levels of fatal implant reaction rates among the Legion's candidates, which was to be demonstrated subsequently as a factor of the VIth Legion's gene-seed before its later stabilisation with its Primarch's genetic pattern. Regardless, like the other proto-Legions of the trefoil, the VIth was largely held back from full engagement in armed conflict during the closing stages of the Unification Wars and the re-conquest of the Sol System. This not only served to further isolate them from their peers but also denied them the boons of vastly increased recruitment intake gained by those Legions that had participated in the subjugation of Luna and the reward of primacy in the use of its gene-labs. Perhaps ironically, this segregation also spared them the travails of the gene-seed crisis which almost destroyed the IIIth (the Emperor's Children) and caused damage to the Vth (later the White Scars) and the IXth (the Blood Angels), as well. It was almost a standard decade after the Great Crusade had broken free of the confines of the Sol System and spread out to distant stars that the VIth Legion was to be unleashed openly en masse against an enemy. The VIth Legion continued as an active fleet command of the Great Crusade, its numbers steadily growing to recorded levels of nearly 5,000 at the Battle of Hyn'tal and then 7,000 active Astartes at the start of the Relovs Landing campaign. Given this relatively small size -- Legions such as the Luna Wolves and the Dark Angels of the I Legion numbered thrice and four times that number respectively -- they often served alongside other Legions and large Imperialis Auxilia forces in major campaigns or were entrusted with smaller, often bloody missions to destroy particular knots of enemy resistance in shock assaults. Over time the VIth Legion developed particular expertise also in conducting rapidly moving hunter-killer operations, particularly in city-fighting conditions, or in undertaking more generally punitive actions, such as suppressing rebellions by inflicting short, brutal reprisal actions-tasks for which the VIth under Rathvin seemed particularly suited, and indeed missions of which type Rathvin often requested for his Legion. During the earliest years of the Great Crusade, the VIth embodied feral ferocity and aggression, but exhibited little of the control they later possessed. As a consequence, the Legion employed a far larger number of Disciplinary troops than almost any other Legion. Of Jackals and Hounds The VIth Legion's reputation amongst the wider forces of the Great Crusade by its second Terran decade was by this point something of a mixed one. They had an unarguable track record of success and had won numerous battle honours, but accusations and stories of unneeded collateral damage and casualties among human civilian populations where they fought were widespread. It was said, long before the influence of Fenris and its culture on the Legion, that there was something of the bestial to the Legion's warriors, something readily apparent in the first foreshadowings of a mark of what was to become later known as the Helix Lupus upon them, though insufficient time had yet passed for this to become so very pronounced. More than this, some had concerns that the VIth were said to be an internally fractious Legion, ruled more by the strength of its officers than obedience to legitimate authority, and violence and factionalism within the ranks was said to be far too common. This was in an age where the Primarchs themselves, save Horus, had not yet been found to stamp their mark upon their Legion, but the likes of the VIIIth Legion was already gaining a reputation as the Emperor's agents of terror and fear, and the "unwonted savagery" of the VIth was often spoken of alongside the future Night Lords in the symposia of the great and the good of the Great Crusade's hierarchy, with some even warning that the Legion should be closely monitored lest it become uncontrollable. But of all the accusations, perhaps the most cutting was that the VIth Legion was never keener to the fight as when an enemy had already broke and fled before it -- when its victims were helpless. With this came an informal and insulting cognomen for the VIth Legion of the "Rout"; a collective noun often used for carrion jackals and the mutated pariah dogs of Terra's dry seas that hounded and preyed upon refugee columns and wastelanders -- creatures brave only when their victims were half-dead or exhausted. Ironically enough, this insult may even have been meant to unfavourably compare the VIth to the equally ferocious XIIth, already become known as the War Hounds, a Legion also renowned for the unbelievable violence of its mettle in battle, but which was at this time held up as an example of honourably controlled fury, its rage directed only at the direst foes and used to overcome the most overmatching odds. This comparison seems now as some macabre joke given the very different paths these Legions were to take and what future history had in store for them -- paths dictated in no small measure by the effect that the finding of their Primarch was to have upon them both. That change, and truly transformative it would prove to be, was not long in coming for the VIth Legion. The Wolf King Ancient Fenris, the world onto which the infant Russ came to rest, was a world of violent extremes. Trapped in an acute elliptical orbit, its winters were long and dark, and the gravitational upheaval as Fenris passed close to its sun threw the scattered inhabited islands into turmoil. The human tribes were forced to make their living from the storm-tossed seas, building boats from the few trees to survive to maturity and the hides from monsters of the deep. These vessels were vital not just for fishing, but to relocate entire communities to new islands as their own sank beneath the waves. Such a harsh world forged hard and hardy people, nomads, with little care for knowledge that couldn't be carried inside their heads. Survival meant not just being able to navigate the waves, but to drive the enemy into the sea, be they raiders, or simply a tribe unable to defend, and hence unworthy of inhabiting, the precious islands. However, it was not these people that the infant primarch was found by, but something far more dangerous. According to Gnauril the Elder's legendary saga, The Ascension of the Wolf King, he was raised in the first few years of life by a pack of Fenrisian wolves, suckling from the she-wolf like a cub and hunting on all fours with the pack. It was these raids that first brought him into contact with the tribes of man. On hearing of the wolves terrorising his vassals, the ruler of the island ordered his bondsmen to bring back their pelts. The pack was lured into a trap set by a wyrd, one of their rune-priests, who planted the impression that one of their number was wounded and crying out for help. Once hemmed in by the steep walls of a gorge, the dense undergrowth was set ablaze with flaming arrows, and the maddened animals slaughtered as they broke from cover. The boy-primarch saw his den-mother charge at the hunters, only to be knocked to the floor by the rune-priest's eldritch lightning. With a wordless howl of fury he leapt to the mighty she-wolf's side, scattering the humans that sought to harm her. Despite being struck by many a poisoned arrow, rage and defiance still burned within him. In the end it was the rune-priest's sorcery that finally rendered him insensible. The wolves were skinned, but the feral curiosity was securely bound and returned to the halls of Thengir, King of the Russ tribe. Seeing a challenge before him, Thengir boasted that he would tame the feral child and teach him the human tongue. Though it started as a humorous wager, the king soon grew to regard the boy as his own son, naming him Leman of the Russ. While he retained a certain lupine savagery, the boy took to his new-found human heritage with aplomb. His extraordinary strength, skill and cunning earned him a dominant role within the tribe, and cemented his position as the rightful heir to Thengir's throne. In Leman Russ' rise to greatness one group found themselves excluded from the king's councils: the once-powerful rune-priests. Some say that Russ could never forgive what they had done to the great she-wolf who had raised him. Others claim that having only recently gained the power of speech and human reason, seeing the wyrds cloud men's minds and steal their thoughts seemed to be the worst kind of crime to the young primarch. His instincts were vindicated when the rune-priests used their powers to twist loyal members of the tribe to attack Russ and King Thengir. Recognising the taint of sorcery, Leman Russ swiftly dispatched the rune-priests among the group and ended the attack, but not in time to prevent Thengir from suffering a mortal wound. The freed bondsmen grovelled for their lives at the feet of Leman Russ. They spoke of how their will had been stolen, that they had been nothing but helpless puppets in the attack. They also claimed to have heard talk of the involvement and complicity of other rune-priests, both on the island and further afield. Grimly, Leman Russ bade them stand, and in a voice filled with certainty made the following proclamation: "To beat someone in a fair fight and prove your dominance is only right. To trick your opponent to do so... all the better. But to steal someone's mind with sorcery; to take from them the very thing that makes them human... that can never be forgiven. We will kill them all." To this end, the tribe of the Russ took to wearing torcs made of solid, dependable iron. A known protective against sorcery, its qualities were further enhanced by quenching the glowing metal in the blood of an enemy. Thus protected, by the time the Emperor arrived on Fenris the newly crowned Wolf-King, had expunged the taint of sorcery from the island, and also from those of their neighbours. Russ' early instinctual acceptance of the Emperor as his true father was severely shaken when it became clear that He was not just what the Fenrisians would call a wyrd, but the most powerful one in the galaxy. The Emperor patiently explained the difference between wild sorcery and his own tightly controlled psychic powers, but Russ refused to listen. Even the honour of commanding a legion of the Legiones Astartes was taken as an insult. He coldly accused the Emperor of being no better than the rune-priests who had used others to fight their battles for them, and contemptuously threw the offered golden thunderbolt and lightning sigil to the floor. Russ confronted the Legio Custodes who had subtly moved to protect their lord, but the Emperor bade His guards stand aside, and realising what it would take to convince him, issued Russ a challenge. The Master of Mankind and the Wolf-King fought bare-handed all through that night, and as the sun rose over the wreckage of the lodge-house, the matter was finally settled. The Emperor had shown He was willing to spill His own blood, rather than just demand it of His subjects, and by merely surviving that long, Russ had proved beyond doubt that he was truly one of his father's Primarchs. All that remained was for the Emperor to establish His dominance without question. With a mighty blow that stunned the assembled crowd, the Emperor struck Russ square in the face and knocked him out cold. Then, to the appreciative cheers of the Fenrisians, the bloodied Master of Mankind placed His golden sigil around Russ' neck. In doing so, the Emperor formally passed command of the VIth Legion to their primarch, known ever-after as the Space Wolves. The Great Crusade When Russ awoke he was a man transformed: at ease with his place as the enforcer of the Emperor's will among the stars. The legion took the stable and previously unexplored continent of Asaheim as its base and established their fortress-monastery, which they called the Fang, at the summit of the highest and most forbidding mountain peak. The original Terran legionaries adapted quickly to their primogenitor‟s whims, and the hardy islanders of Fenris proved to be excellent candidates to take the Helix Lupus and join their ranks. Though savage and unconventional by the standards of many other legions, the Space Wolves' innate skills as seafarers and raiders translated well to the role of bringing the lost human worlds into compliance with the Imperium. Russ' legendary charm, amply backed by the threat of his ferocious warriors, persuaded all but the most truculent planetary leaders as to the benefits of the burgeoning Imperium. On occasion the Space Wolves found themselves fighting alongside marines from other legions, and while Russ counted most of his brother-primarchs as firm friends, in the case of the Dark Angels the rivalry was far from cordial. The gregarious and headstrong Russ found Lion El'Jonson to be cold, arrogant and superior, a fact made worse by them having brought a greater tally of worlds into compliance than the young Space Wolves Legion. This antipathy spilled over to such a degree that after their shared enemies had been defeated it was common for unseemly fistfights or even blood-duels to erupt. Despite their complete trust in the Emperor, the culture of Fenris left the Space Wolves eternally vigilant for any taint of sorcery in the worlds they conquered. Where less "superstitious" legions blinded themselves to the truth, the Space Wolves took the same direct and bloody approach to the uncanny that they had on Fenris. It seemed that on every planet they brought into compliance, no matter how tranquil, a coven of wyrds lay hidden like the maggot within the apple. Though the very concept of the daemonic was treated by others at the time as laughable, the Space Wolves saw them for what they were. In the face of mass possession and daemonic manifestation, even the oblivion of global extinction was a kindness. While Russ himself calmed the misgivings of his men over working with aberrations like Astropaths and Navigators, he forcefully forbade battlefield psykers in his legion, and was outspoken about their use by other Astartes. The worst offenders in Russ' eyes were the Thousand Sons. Their Primarch, Magnus the Red, believed wholeheartedly that psychic talent was the key to Mankind's future, and used it as an integral part of his war strategy. The first and last time the two legions fought alongside one another, they came within moments of all-out warfare. The experience convinced Russ that Magnus' explorations into the nature of the Immaterium were nothing more than thinly veiled sorceries of the blackest kind. Russ was not alone in his concerns, and on the planet of Nikaea the Master of Mankind called a council to stand in judgement on the subject. The Wolf-King was characteristically forthright in his views, and supported with damning testimony from like-minded primarchs such as Mortarion, Corax and even Dorn, Magnus' fate appeared sealed. When judgement came, the Thousand Sons were not only allowed to continue their practices, but also given leave to soul-bind themselves to the Emperor. Fearing that Magnus had used his corrupt powers to influence their father's decision, Russ stormed from the council and laid plans to save the Emperor from Himself. The Burning of Prospero Believing that the soul-binding ritual would allow Magnus to poison the Emperor‟s essence with sorcery, Russ gathered his entire legion together to attack the Thousand Sons' homeworld of Prospero. To their credit, not a single brother shied away from the terrible thing the Wolf-King had asked of them. With all of their cunning and skill, the Space Wolves were able to catch the legion of sorcerers unawares, chasing off their fleet and blasting their orbital defences into wreckage before descending onto the planet below. What they found beneath the shining white cities‟ veneer of purity sickened the Space Wolves to the core. They uncovered entire libraries of sacrilegious texts, buildings constructed for the sole purpose of conducting black rites, and a populace who openly bore the mark of the mutant and the witch. While the Space Wolves drew the noose around the heavily protected capital city of Tizca, Russ had no qualms about ordering sustained orbital bombardments to scour the lesser cities from the face of the planet. The Space Wolves advanced cautiously beneath the protective shield-curtain, and at first met only scattered resistance. Emboldened, they pressed on, only to find the city itself becoming a labyrinth, as though the buildings themselves were moving and re-arranging to divide their forces. It was then that the Thousand Sons finally showed themselves. Isolated and unsupported, the Space Wolves were attacked from all sides by balefire and mind-numbing enchantments. Their iron torcs were of little use against such potent magicks, and with his legion dying around him Russ called out to his father, to anyone, for aid in destroying the sorcerers. The answer came from deep within him. It was the personification of the bestial fury that had boiled inside his soul since he had first run with the wolf-pack on Fenris. It was the part of him that yearned to slaughter whole worlds, to feast upon warm flesh and to swim in oceans of blood. The howl that started at the back of Russ‟ throat echoed from the shining towers and was in turn taken up by every Space Wolf in the city. In an instant the enchantments faltered, the insane cartography shifted back to the norm and ætheric lightning guttered and died in the sorcerer's hands. Transformed into little more than slavering beasts, the Space Wolves fell upon their tormentors. Only after they had reduced the city of Tizca to a charnel pit did they return to anything resembling sanity. They did so with the name of their saviour on their reddened lips: Khorne, the God of Blood and Skulls, the bane of all sorcery. There were bodies of Thousand Sons among the piles of corpses, but not nearly enough to account for their full numbers. Most tellingly, of Magnus himself there was no sign. Stalking through the rubble of the primarch's tower sparked a memory of the battle in Russ that changed the legion forever. He remembered fighting the cyclops primarch, trading blows which shook buildings to their very foundations. Just as he had Magnus at his mercy, a figure in golden armour appeared from nowhere and parried the death-blow with an ornate spear. The memory of the heart-strike, only narrowly turned aside by Russ' thick chest-plate, brought back an ocean of pain, but it was washed away by the joyous remembrance of tearing the assassin apart a second later. Magnus the Red was long gone, but the corpse of the golden armoured warrior remained. He recognised the man for what he was, a member of the Legio Custodes, his father's personal bodyguards. He also found the remains of the golden thunderbolt sigil that had been destroyed by the Guardian Spear's thrust. With an iron certainty Russ knew the truth of the matter. From the actions of the Legio Custodes, it was painfully clear that the Emperor not only condoned the sorcery that Magnus had perpetrated, but stood proudly with him. Russ also recognised the thunderbolt sigil for the focus of psychic power it most certainly was. While he had worn it Russ had been influenced to be utterly loyal to his 'Allfather'. After its destruction, Russ could see the Emperor for what he truly was: The Arch-Wych. With the Thousand Sons gone, Prospero's shining cities in ruins and its mutant population put to the sword, Russ tasked his legion with an even greater challenge. The whispers of his new patron in his ears, Russ declared that they would tear down the Imperial Palace and put the Emperor to the sword. Drowning in Blood The news that Rogal Dorn had also seen the light and had crushed three legions loyal to the Emperor roused the Space Wolves to jubilation. It seemed that at last mankind was awaking to the threat, and was rising up as one against sorcery. In a state of high excitement the legion returned to its fleet and set course for Terra to join the revolution. This celebratory mood rapidly soured though, as the legion immersed themselves in the worship of Khorne with riotous bouts of bloodletting and head-taking. Worse still, what was always going to be a long journey seemed to be cursed. The tides of the warp had turned against them, slowing their progress to a crawl and sweeping them far off course. The fleet's Navigators were blamed, either through incompetence or by intent, yet even the most bloodcurdling of torments failed to right their course. Russ' realisation that their new-found gifts allowed them to traverse the warp as well as any Navigator put an end to the mutants' lives, but not to the fleet's predicament. Cooped up with no one but each other to vent their frustration upon, Russ became concerned they would either arrive too late, or that the legion would destroy itself long before it reached Terra. Their salvation came from an unexpected source: the Dark Angels. When yet another warp-jump deposited then far off course and within hailing distance of a Dark Angels fleet, the Space Wolves prepared to continue their long-standing feud. Instead they were greeted warmly as fellow enlightened of Chaos. Luther, the Dark Angel's commander, said that he had personally slain Jonson for the glory of Chaos, and further, claimed to have embraced and studied the Dark Gods in all their aspects. With Luther's aid, the Space Wolves were able to control and direct their aggression. This was performed in a symbolic bloodletting on the planet of Dulan. Even though the world had sided with Chaos, the two legions tore down the Crimson Fortress of its ruler, the tyrant Durath. The blood pact, sealed with Durath's evisceration, gave the Space Wolves a deeper understanding of Khorne. From then on, Russ and his brothers had the chance to be masters of the blood-tide rather than its servants. Both fleets continued onwards, drawing torturously slowly but surely towards Terra. With the two Chaos Legions only days from their destination, and the war balanced upon a knife-edge, the Emperor was forced into a desperate gamble to attack the leader of the Heresy on his flagship. Though Dorn was killed and the heart torn out of the Chaos Legions on Terra, it left the Emperor a broken, mortally wounded husk. Even with the Chaos Legions in full retreat and the vengeful loyalists eager to avenge their fallen lord, Russ still continued onwards. It was only the sage counsel of Luther that turned him from the path of certain destruction. He said that they must have faith that everything had transpired according to Khorne's great plan. With the Imperium in such a state of upheaval there was an entire galaxy of skulls ripe for the harvesting. The idea that Khorne himself had prevented them from reaching Terra in time did not go down well with the Space Wolves, with Wolf Lords openly voicing their disgust. At last, however, Russ turned them aside, and they set course for Fenris, leaving a swathe of butchered worlds in their wake. The Wolf Brothers Burning with the arrogance and certainty of youth, and no longer burdened by their fealty to Leman Russ, large numbers of Blood Claws rejected the teachings of their elders and struck out to show the galaxy the meaning of unbridled aggression. Wilfully ignoring the structure of Luther's teachings, which they saw as an anathema to the purity of Khorne, each competed to be the most brutal and bloodthirsty in honour of their god. Though these so-called 'Wolf Brothers' drowned the stars themselves in blood, such intensity could never be sustained. They were rapidly consumed in the crucible of war, dead either at the hands of the enemy, or just as likely, murdered by each other. Such a fate is little deterrent, though, and periodically bands of rebellious Blood Claws leave the confines of their great companies to follow in the footsteps of the original Wolf Brothers. The Scourging of Fenris As the Imperium regained its strength, it took to reclaiming the worlds which had sided with Chaos during the Dornian Heresy. The ancestral homeworlds of the so-called Traitor Legions were particular prizes for them, but were something that could only be attempted by massed crusades of the loyalist Astartes. Excepting Macragge, which has not fallen to this day, Fenris was the last Astartes homeworld to fall. For long periods it was isolated by swirling warp storms from the Eye of Terror which, as though attracted by the worship of the Blood God, had swept out to encompass Fenris. Still the consummate raider, Russ used the brief periods in which the warp was calm to bring the judgement of Khorne down upon the already weakened Imperium, always returning to Fenris just before the storms descended once more. Eventually, three years shy of the second century anniversary of the Emperor's entombment inside His Golden Throne, the warp-storms enshrouding Fenris briefly cleared and a crusade was launched to assault the world with overwhelming strength. The loyalists had hoped that their relative isolation would have caused the skull-takers to turn upon one another, depleting their numbers, but this was not to be. During the Scourging of Fenris, every isolated island became a battleground. The animals and even the landscape itself seemed to rise up as though driven by the will of the Blood God to oppose the invaders. The war of attrition stretched from weeks to months, but finally, under a burning sun that filled the sky with ominous portent, the Imperial forces broached the walls of the Fang itself. Though there were other legions and indeed primarchs fighting across Fenris, only the Thousand Sons led by Magnus, the Word Bearers commanded by Lorgar and the Black Templars under High Lord Abaddon set foot inside the Space Wolves mighty fortress-monastery. In the centuries since the Wolf-King and the cyclops had fought to a standstill on Prospero, Russ had become both a daemon-primarch and an avatar of Khorne. In such a clash no mere mortal could hope to survive, and the Aet's massive halls were choked with the dead of both sides. Then, after three days, the loyalist simply withdrew and returned to their ships. The only sign the Space Wolves found of their primarch was his frostblade, Mjalnar, and his massive, empty suit of daemon-armour scattered outside the entrance to his personal temple to Khorne. Though consumed by the disappearance of their primarch, there was no time for the Space Wolves to ascertain Russ' location, or even if he was still alive. The loyalists had fled because the world itself was dying, its ever-eccentric orbit in terminal decay. The Space Wolves blamed the Thousand Sons, claiming that only the foulest of sorceries could have performed such a deed. Bereft of their primarch, and with their world tearing itself apart, the legion did the same. Some remained on Fenris and slaked their bloodlust by killing whoever they could find before the end. Most took to their ships and were scattered across the galaxy by the tides of the warp, content simply to wreak their vengeance upon the Imperium. Legion Homeworld Fenris, the place of the VIth Legion's birth, was a death-world even before it was claimed by Khorne. Its islands periodically sank beneath the waves, forcing the population to brave the kraken-haunted seas in search of new homes. The fertile volcanic soils allowed them to grow crops in season to see them and their animals through the long, cold winters, as well as grain for the brewing of ales. The planet‟s sole continent, Asaheim, was the only place insulated from this tectonic upheaval. Permanently raised up above the battering seas, its coast was a single precipitous cliff-face, which meant that the first time humanity was able to set foot there was with the arrival of the Imperium. The animals that stalked the forests and mountain peaks of Asaheim were no less dangerous than those found in the oceans: bears, mammoths and most dangerous and iconic, the Fenrisian wolves. Packs of these had even been found on the islands, hunting the livestock and inhabitants, and well able to brave the seas in search of fresh prey. Though Fenris died when its erratic orbit plunged it deep into the heart of their sun, a more subtle death occurred when Russ returned after the Heresy. Those that would not dedicate themselves to Khorne were culled and the turbulent seas ran red with the blood of the „unenlightened‟. The twin losses of both primarch and homeworld shattered the legion into warbands which set off on the sea of stars in search of new planets on which to ply their murderous trade. On occasion these warbands tire of the Imperium and gravitate to the Eye of Terror to test their blades and take the skulls from worshippers of the other gods of Chaos. Like many other legions they have claimed a world there, though not as a home, but a shrine. It is to this dead world, far beyond the prying sensors of the Imperium‟s null-ships, that the legion comes to make their offerings to Khorne. The mountains of votive skulls stretch up into the daemon-haunted clouds, a pile they say that supports and raises Khorne‟s throne higher with every death. In a realm where the warp and the material plane intersect, who is to say that they are wrong? Unable to accept that their ancestral home is truly gone, some Space Wolves are drawn to return to the Fenris system. This knowledge has been used by the Imperium, and in particular the Thousand Sons, to bring them to battle. The presence of the legion's blood-enemies desecrating the site of their homeworld is an insult that no true son of Russ could ignore. Many a Space Wolf warband has gone willingly into the teeth of such a trap, the most glorious being the fate of Wolf Lord Skyrar and his Dark Wolves. They destroyed three escorting frigates, and even with their ship debilitated by wild magicks, were able to ram the Thousand Sons' battle barge and catastrophically breach its warp core. Long after it had closed, the echoes of Skyrar's Rift still pulse through the Fenris system as a sign of their defiance. Legion Organisation Pre-Heresy When Leman Russ took over the VIth Legion, it adhered rigidly to the guidelines and dispositions laid down by the Principia Belicosa of the Imperium's High Command. This rule was clung to by the warriors of the Legion as an anchor against the disorder their own increasingly fractious character was sowing in their ranks. Enforced discipline was common and even executions in the field were not unknown in the VI Legion. With the rediscovery of Leman Russ and the cultural influence of Fenris which he imprinted on the Legion, these factors rapidly fell by the wayside. The fury which lay within the Legion's heart was given form and discipline mastered by will, and this wellspring of savagery was channelled and directed in battle rather than left unfocused, providing a catharsis which purged the Legion of its self-destructive tendencies and unified it under the Wolf King's banner. Both the Fenrisian way of warfare as adapted by Leman Russ and the natural tendencies of the Legion to want to close and get to grips with its foes at close quarters led to a rapid and shifting focus away from the generalist and combined arms approach advocated by the Principia Belicosa and towards tactics dependent on highly mobile shock infantry units, with heavier support elements maintained, but largely focussed in specialised detachments rather than as part of the general line of battle. The Space Wolves were conditioned to hold a near-suicidal disregard for danger and trained to exploit this to the fullest on the battlefield, pitting their courage and might where it would be most effective; in the very teeth of the foe, overwhelming opponents by sheer speed and ferocity of attack, both in hand-to-hand combat and in brutal short-ranged fire fights. As time went on, their tactical dispositions shifted to better accommodate this preference, leading to the creation of unique shock units such as the "Grey Slayers" and "Bloodied Claws," which gradually came to comprise the bulk of the core infantry of the Legion by the time of the Burning of Prospero. At the macro level, the Legion consisted of thirteen "Great Companies" designated by their number in the order of battle, with each nominally composed of a theoretical 10,000 Astartes, though in practice attrition and casualty rates meant this was never more than a notional figure. Below this strategic level, the Legion's host was now broken down into a shifting array of ad hoc formations either put together for a particular mission or beholden strongly to the personal authority of a particular company commander, and below them to a series of tributary sub-commanders, known variously as "Wolf Lord" (Jarl) or "Claw Leader" (Thegn), regardless of their notional or accorded rank within the Imperium's standard order of battle. These warband-like forces -- while each was part of one of the overarching Great Companies which comprised the Legion -- were largely autonomous and heavily infantry-focussed. They often lacked certain specialised units and formations found in other Legions, and could range in size from between battalion to Chapter strength in conventional terms, while below this, the more general terms of "Pack" or "Claw" became an accepted descriptor of any small tactical unit, be it a single squad of warriors or a small combined taskforce. These arrangements could be confusing to outsiders with, for example, a particular Great Company having within it several "Jarls," whose relative seniority or areas of command were far from clear to any but the Space Wolves. These warband-like forces -- while each was part of one of the overarching Great Companies which comprised the Legion -- were largely autonomous, heavily infantry-focussed and often lacked certain specialised units and formations found in other Space Marine Legions. Particularly, this bias left the later Space Wolves Legion lacking in units dedicated to areas of warfare such as siegecraft or sustained bombardment, which did not sit well with the Legion's military philosophy or the psyche of its warriors. Elsewhere in the Space Wolves' wider ranks, the remnants of such specialised forces remained as reserve elements under the direction of the Primarch's household and the direct command of the "Iron Priests" -- the masters of the Legion's armoury -- but such formations became the exception rather than the rule in the Space Wolves' order of battle. Of particular note within the Legion was the role played by the so-called "Priests of Fenris." This sealed chamber within the Legion embodied much of the special command functions provided by the separate Apothecarion, Librarius and Armourium in other Legions. They were suffused both with an aura of ritual and secrecy, unusual for a pre-heresy Legion, for as well as the continuation of the Legion's martial culture, the maintenance of its wargear and the preservation of its gene-seed, these "priests" also occupied the role of keepers of the Legion's occluded history and superstitions, and served as the wardens of its secrets. The senior representatives of this varied priesthood, be they Priest of Iron, Caster of Runes or Speaker of the Dead, had a place of honour on the Einherjar, the Legion's council of war, which advised their Primarch, and on which every Jarl and Thegn had a place, and where every warrior of the Space Wolves had the right to speak. Post-Heresy After the disappearance of Leman Russ, the Space Wolves' fiercely headstrong and independent nature meant that no single Wolf Lord could claim the unanimous support of their peers. As a result the legion fractured into great companies, with charismatic Wolf Lords such as Kyrl Grimblood, Hengst Bloodmane and Bjorn the Fell-Handed leading their brothers out on disparate, uncoordinated rampages. In time even these allegiances began to fracture. The first to depart were groups of younger Astartes who broke away from what they saw as the staid and complacent rule of their commanders. As death or spawn-hood claimed the original Wolf Lords, feuds erupted amongst those who sought to succeed them. Such confrontations generally end with the victor claiming the skulls of his challengers, but on occasion it has led to the acrimonious breakdown of once-mighty great companies. Newly inducted marines start out grouped together into large packs known as Blood Claws. With the vitality of youth, they rush headlong towards the enemy to spill blood in the name of Khorne. Those skilled or lucky to survive long enough to assimilate Luther's insights take a more measured, and even more effective approach to battle. These Grey Hunters use stealth and cunning to quietly lope into position, the better to deliver swift death to their unsuspecting enemies. The finest exponents of Khorne's art rise to the position of Wolf Guard. They are charged with the most important tasks, such as enforcing their master's will upon a difficult pack, or clearing a path for the Wolf Lord to challenge the enemy's leaders. The legion has no love or need for the written word, instead storing all of its knowledge and history in the form of sagas recited aloud. While every brother strives to tell the epic tale of their deeds on the battlefield, the legion's specialists use it as an aid to complete their own tasks. The Iron Priests consign everything to memory in this way, from the operation of starships to the repair of weapons and armour, while the Choosers of the Slain use the sagas to recall the procedure for the creation of new Space Wolves. The Space Wolves' ships are crewed by humans referred to as bondsmen. They attend to the marine's needs and even follow them onto the battlefield. Some are cultists of Khorne who have consciously sought out the legion in a vain attempt to prove their worthiness as Astartes. Most bondsmen are simply souls taken captive rather than swiftly killed during raids. In either case such weaklings do not last long before running foul of one of their master's rages, or becoming food for the Fenrisian wolves on the long journeys between battles. Specialist Ranks & Formations *'Varagyr Wolf Guard' - The Varagyr were the chosen warriors of Leman Russ, hand-picked from his own Great Company to form his personal Honour Guard and close companions in war and council. To have attained such a rank and position, each had distinguished themselves in battle many times over, and each had forged their own saga worth the telling. More so than any other of his sons they were the wolves of his Pack, marked by the great beast pelt which adorned their armour. No longer honourable warriors or wholly sane, the Varagyr are prone to losing their self control as any other Space Wolf, as they often simply rush forward to sate their bloodlust without any other consideration in their minds, meaning any hope of them fighting as an organised unit is a forlorn hope at best. *'Priests of Fenris' - The Priests of Fenris existed as a series of interconnected Orders which provided for the physical, spiritual and technological needs of the VIth Legion. Occluded to outsiders beneath webs of what outwardly seemed superstition and barbarism, they were more than technicians and specialists, but instead the repositories of the Legion's true history, the keepers of its secrets and the masters of its lore. *'Long Fangs' - Long Fangs form a cadre of veteran warriors within the Legion. Hoary with age, savage and bloodthirsty, they are quite literally endowed with long fangs, for as a Space Wolf ages his canines lengthen and his hair grows course and grey. After centuries of long wars, their ferocity and bellicose nature commands awe and respect from those of lesser years. There are relatively few Long Fangs within the Legion, for many warriors die in battle, so only a minority survive to reach a venerable age. *'Grey Hunters' - If Blood Claws survive long enough to mature into seasoned Astartes, they are promoted to the ranks of the Grey Hunters. The Grey Hunter packs form the greater mass of the Space Wolves' warriors. They are strong and resolute fighters, tempered by battle but as hungry for battle and committing slaughter in the name of their patron god. The Grey Hunters are, in effect compact individual warbands of Space Marines, all but autonomous in their own right in the field: fluid, sure-footed and largely exempt from the reliance on direct commands from above. They are expected to deal with myriad challenges on their own if needs be, and above all to close with the enemy on their own terms; to seek and destroy and to claim skulls for the Skull Throne. *'Blood Claws' - A Blood Claw is a newly inducted Astartes of the Space Wolves Legion. Still struggling to control the spirit of the Wulfen within, Blood Claws are notoriously savage and fiercely aggressive. These hot-headed young warriors cannot wait to prove themselves, charging in howling packs at the front lines of the enemy in their efforts to garner personal glory for the Blood God. They prefer to fight at close quarters and are armed with melee weapons such as chainswords and bolt pistols. The Blood Claws are the shock troops of the Space Wolves and spearhead the majority of assaults. If they survive to become mature and capable warriors, they will eventually be elevated to the veteran ranks of the Grey Hunters. *'Deathsworn Packs' - The Deathsworn, known informally as "the Black Cull," were the dark heart of the VI Legion and theirs was a cause that was eventually to find its vent in the transfiguration of the flesh, but long before the first Wulfen, the descent into the depths of the beast, its predatory taint, was found within the minds of those born of the Space Wolves' gene-seed. Within the Space Wolves, such an all-consuming impulse to kill and kill again was better understood, and the ways of Fenris held the answer to such dark souls in the shape of the Cult of Morkai and its ministers, who ensured that those marked by the Death Wolf would be cast upon the enemies of Mankind with proper application of force. The warriors who gave themselves over became the Deathsworn, marked by wolf-skull helms, the embodiment of the spirit of death in the heart of the Space Wolves Legion. Following their eventual corruption, under the influence of Khorne, these deadly near-berserker assault units are composed of the most savage and bloodthirsty Legionaries within the VIth Legion. Many focus their desire for berserk slaughter through martial discipline, mastering a variety of macabre and savage weapons patterned from those used by their Fenrisian ancestors found on their former home world of Fenris. When their Primarch Leman Russ became a Daemon Prince of Khorne and the Space Wolves willingly fell into the bloody worship of their new patron god, the Deathsworn became the first Khornate Berserkers, and are often at the forefront of battle to accumulate skulls for Khorne's throne. These berserkers of Khorne relish their role as the Blood God's sacred destroyers, and are fanatical in the extreme. The warp-fulled anger of these psychopathic warriors drives them into an endless frenzy of action. Those who face them in battle disappear under a rain of heavy blows, each potent enough to shear limbs and shatter shields. Their delight in pain and death is so strong that they have been known to attack their comrades in a blind rage and, if no other opponent is present, even to fall upon their own weapons as sacrifices to Khorne. *'Sons of Ymir' - The Dreadnought cadres of the Space Wolves Legion were known as the Sons of Ymir. **''Hrimthursar'' - The Hrumthursar were the most hateful of all the Dreadnoughts who served the Legion as the Sons of Ymir. **''Eldthursar'' - Also known as the Sons of Muspel and the Destroyers of Worlds, the Eldthursar are the most violent of the Dreadnoughts who served as the Sons of Ymir. Most often these warriors had suffered terribly before being placed within the Dreadnought's sarcophagus and the pain of their mortal wounding drove them to bouts of killing mania when left conscious. Rarely are they awoken from their slumber unless the Legion requires the utter annihilation of an enemy, for these war engines are never subtle weapons. Legion Combat Doctrine Pre-Heresy Since the Wars of Unification, the VIth Legion had been conditioned to hold a near-suicidal disregard for danger and trained to exploit this to the fullest on the battlefield, the heavy infantry that formed the core of the Legion's battalions were a force that had been honed in battle against the countless enemies of Mankind and, it was whispered, against their own wayward brothers. For, unlike their brother Legions, the Space Wolves were kept under the tight control of the Imperial Court and unleashed at the Emperor's command as often to chastise those who would renege on their oaths of service as to destroy those who resisted the offer of Compliance. Post-Heresy Following their corruption and inevitable fall to madness and unslakable bloodlust, and eventual enslavement to their master, the Blood God Khorne, the Space Wolves transformed into a berserker force of ill-disciplined killers that lose themselves in the din of battle and inevitable slaughter that follows. On the field of battle, the Blood Claws throw themselves madly towards the enemy. In their desire to fight, these young marines, often transform into bestial Wulfen, losing all thought of tactics or stealth. The more mature Astartes use their years of experience to work their way into position, ready to attack the enemy in its vulnerable flanks. The psychological effect of this cannot be over-estimated. Even the most disciplined gun-line has faltered and broken on the realisation that they face not only an onrushing tide of claws and teeth, but that the enemy is already behind them and slaughtering its way towards them. While the legion does not intentionally summon daemons, such acts being much too akin to sorcery for their liking, the entities are drawn to the sites of their butchery anyway. Lesser daemons have been observed to burst from corpses or exude themselves from pools of freshly spilled blood to aid in the slaughter. After the fight has been won, and befitting their nomadic nature, the legion and its assorted hangers-on descend to pick the battlefield clean. Guided by scent the battle-brothers return to the sites of their kills to take trophies from worthy enemies. In the case of other Astartes this can include weapons and pieces of armour to replace the damage that inevitably occurs. They rarely repaint it, preferring that it remain as a reminder of their battles, and as a taunting sign to their enemies of their previous defeats. In their wake come the Choosers of the Slain. They stalk the battlefield selecting skulls adjudged to be particularly prized by Khorne. They also claim the gene-seed of fallen Space Wolves and select those enemies who fought well enough to be saved from the brink of death and forcibly initiated into the legion. Under the direction of the Iron Priests, the legion's bondsmen are sent out to scour the area for anything of use. As the Space Wolves have little manufacturing capacity, and even less interest in settling down to use it, almost everything they have has to be scavenged, ranging from bolt-rounds to entire Land Raiders. Only when the Fenrisian wolves have returned from chasing down and glutting themselves upon enemies that fled in cowardice from the battlefield does the legion start its journey to the next battle. Legion Wargear Collars of Khorne Worn by the warriors of Fenris as a ward against magic, iron neck torcs became common even amongst the Terran-born members of the Space Wolves. After the legion came to the worship of the Blood God, they took to calling them Collars of Khorne and carved elaborate skull symbols into the metal. Far beyond simple superstition, these devices have a potent protective effect against psykers and magic, Khorne being the bane of such things. As the custom is to anoint the collar in the blood of a defeated opponent, the chest armour of a Space Wolf is constantly splattered crimson. So ingrained is this that collars taken from dead Space Wolves have been observed to exude blood for months or even years. The most infamous collar was crafted for Bjorn the Fell-Handed, the iron for which supposedly came from the blood of thousands he had personally slain. It is said that Khorne took exception to Bjorn's hubris at withholding that which was rightly his, and damned the Wolf Lord for his actions. At the climax of the Proxima Rebellion, the moment of his greatest triumph, Bjorn was struck down and consigned to eternity inside a dreadnought. Any son of Russ who dares to wear this collar is imbued with Bjorn's legendary fury and skill, although not, it seems, with a long life. Legion Beliefs Since their enlightenment at Prospero the Space Wolves have dedicated themselves to the worship of Khorne, slaying entire systems in his name. Without the structures of faith gifted to them by Luther, their wild, self-destructive excesses would long-since have driven the legion to extinction. As a mark of respect, the Dark Angels are one of the few of the Chaos Legions the Space Wolves are willing to fight alongside. They usually prefer to fight alone, confident that even while heavily outnumbered, they are more than a match for any opponent. While the fate of Leman Russ is unknown, every Space Wolf has a theory. Some say that, like Roboute Guilliman, he was captured by the Imperial primarchs and returned to Terra in chains. Others say that he was banished to the warp, or that his very essence was annihilated by Magnus' psychic power. They all agree, however, that even death itself will not be able to prevent Russ from returning to reunite the legion for the final great battle – the Wolftime. Some believe that with the forces of Chaos gathering and finally organising themselves for an almighty attack upon the Imperium, that the End of Days is at hand, and that Russ' return is imminent. Having been denied setting foot upon Terra during the Dornian Heresy, they believe that no power in the universe could prevent him from taking his part in the final destruction of the Arch-Wych. Legion Gene-Seed & Recruitment Back to the earliest days of the legion, the Space Wolves' method of gene-seed implantation has been brutally idiosyncratic. Since their conversion to Khorne, this has become all-the more acute. After the infant primarchs had been stolen away and scattered across the galaxy, the Emperor ordered that the legions‟ implants be created based upon what remained of their gene-templates. In the case of the Space Wolves, the process was flawed, resulting in extensive and crippling levels of rejection and mutation. A number of alternate therapies based upon their primarch's gene-sequence were investigated, but the one finally selected was known as the Helix Lupus. At first the process was almost rejected as it transformed the aspirants into incoherent savages, devoid of all reason. However, when the changes had subsided, it was recognised as the missing piece of the puzzle, reconfiguring the aspirant‟s body into a form far more amenable to the quirks of the Russ gene-line. This was initially conducted under controlled conditions, with subjects restrained throughout the process and intravenously fed with the nutrients required to fuel their transformation. On taking command of the legion, Russ changed these procedures dramatically. A sterile laboratory was no place for the birth of a Wolf of Fenris, and so immediately after the Helix Lupus was administered, aspirants were dropped into the mountainous wastes of Asaheim. In the midst of the change, these bestial creatures were expected to follow their urges; to hunt down and consume the flesh needed to reconfigure their bodies. They then had to show enough composure to return to the Fang so that the process could be completed and their training begin in earnest. After the Heresy, the application of the Helix Lupus became even more brutal. On the battlefield, the legion slaughters indiscriminately, dedicating their kills to Khorne, their God of Blood and Skulls. Stalking through the carnage like cadaverous wraiths are the Choosers of the Slain. Part apothecary, part acolyte of Khorne, they minister to their fallen brethren, deciding if they are worthy to live on, or to yield up their gene-seed and skulls to their god's throne. The Choosers also select those enemies that have fought with sufficient valour and ferocity, and proved worthy of joining Khorne's legion. They are touched by the will of the Blood God himself, with skills that far exceed the wit of even the most skilled chiurgeon. Under their ministrations, and with the application of the Helix Lupus, even a mortal wound may be averted. Once marked by Khorne in this way, the beast within is released, and the long, agonising process of transforming their bodies and minds into those of sons of Russ can proceed. While traditional gene-seed implantation processes require that the aspirant be no older than early puberty, it appears that the ministrations of the corrupted Helix Lupus can allow this process even in full grown adult candidates. It has even been suggested that it can even be used to forcibly corrupt Astartes of other legions to serve Khorne. Though none of the loyal Astartes legions have ever admitted this has occurred with any of their brothers, it would certainly bring a new danger to the prospect of fighting against the Space Wolves; that in doing so they risk a fate worse than death. In addition to the bestial nature of the Helix Lupus, the Russ gene-line has always exhibited certain quirks, such as their uncannily sharp senses and how their incisors grow long and tusk-like with age. Over the millennia, the warping power of Chaos has bestowed further beneficial changes which boost their already considerable strength and brutality. Under the watchful eyes of the Choosers of the Slain this process has been guided to bring them ever-closer to their ideal of the perfect killer. Legion Fleet *''Hrafnkel'' (Gloriana-class Battleship) - Flagship of the Space Wolves Legion. *''Fenrysavar'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Holmgang'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Kerberaus'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Nidhoggur'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Ragnarok'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Retribution'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Sky's Hammer'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Vengeance'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Voidfang'' (Capital Ship, Unknown Class) *''Iron Wolf'' (Battleship, Unknown Class) *''Pride of Fenris'' (Retribution-class Battleship) *''Allfather's Honour'' (Battle Barge) *''Defender of Russ'' (Battle Barge) *''Ironwolf'' (Battle Barge) *''Iron Wolf'' (Battle Barge) *''Fenrysavar'' (Battle Barge) *''Gylfarheim'' (Battle Barge) *''Herald of Morkai'' (Battle Barge) *''Russvangum'' (Battle Barge) *''Scramaseax'' (Battle Barge) *''Spear of Russ'' (Battle Barge) *''Wolf Spirit'' (Battle Barge) *''Fist of Russ'' (Mars-class Battlecruiser) *''Gotthammar'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Holmgang'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Hunter of Fiends'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Ironpelt'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Kraken'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Magnir's Revenge'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Nidhoggur'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Seawolf'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Shadow of Fenris'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Skraemar'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Stormblade'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Stormwolf'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Void Wolf'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Wolf of Fenris'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Wolfborn'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Blood Eagle'' (Frigate, Unknown Class) *''Helrider'' (Frigate, Unknown Class) *''Icebitten'' (Frigate, Unknown Class) *''Ogmar'' (Frigate, Unknown Class) *''Sleikre'' (Frigate, Unknown Class) *''Runefyre'' (Gladius-class Frigate) *''Undrider'' (Blackwing-class Frigate) *''Frostborn'' (Hunter-class Destroyer) *''Veregelt'' (Hunter-class Destroyer) *''Svart-Sól'' (Destroyer, Unknown Class) *''Dmarchus'' (Zeta-class Courier) *''Waning Crescent'' (Zeta-class Courier) *''Hlaupnir'' (Ryza-class System-Runner) *''Yvekk'' (Ryza-class System-Runner) *''Frostaxe'' (Unknown Class) *''Gate of Garm'' (Unknown Class) *''Jarnkel'' (Unknown Class) *''Longwarp'' (Unknown Class) *''Nauro'' (Unknown Class) *'Starfort ''Gormenjarl (Ramilies-class Starfort)' - One of two ''Ramilies-class Starforts that formerly serving as part of the Fenris system defence fleet. *'Starfort ''Mjalnar (Ramilies-class Starfort)' - One of two ''Ramilies-class Starforts that formerly servedas part of the Fenris system defence fleet. *'Defence Platform ''Rieke Og (Orbital Defence Platform, Unknown Class) (Destroyed)''' - Orbital defence platform that formerly protected Fenris. Destroyed by the Thousands Sons' assault during the Scouring of Fenris. Legion Appearance Legion Colours Prior to the Dornian Heresy, the Space Wolves Legion wore gunmetal grey power armor, reminiscent of the unadorned battle-plate of the "Grey Legions" of the Unification Wars-era Space Marine Legions. The wargear and armour of the Space Wolves Legion were renowned for their use of unique Fenrisian cultural artefacts, runic script and artisan modification in their appearance. More than simply an aesthetic influence, these carried various coded references to the history and deeds of the bearer and his unit and Great Company, and their markings could often carry multiple meanings depending on their relation and positioning. It was not unusual for older suits of armour to bear many exotic decorations and honour markings as evidence of long service. Runes of protection inscribed upon a warrior's battle-plate were often utilised as a testimonial to their skills at war, a common practice in the VI Legion denoting leaders within warbands. The wolf hides affixed to their battle-plate is another Fenrisian tradition that was adopted across the Legion, similar to the drake hunting tradition of the XVIIIth Legion (Salamanders), and was again used as a method of denoting dominance within a warband by a display of prowess. When the Space Wolves gave into their bloodlust and fell to the corrupting influence of the Blood God, their gunmetal grey battle-plate and totemic heraldry gave way to blood red and brass, the favored colours of Khorne, although one can often find some pieces of the Space Wolves' original heraldry in individual pieces of their armour. While most Space Wolves retain their original Legion badge, the Mark of Khorne, as well as other Chaos icons and symbols like the Octed (the eight-pointed Star of Chaos), often supplement it. In battle, the Space Wolves almost exclusively employ chainaxes, chainswords and frostblades to maximise blood spillage, although some of the most powerful warriors of the Legion use arcane power or daemonic Khornate weapons infused with the power of a daemon of the Blood God. What was once the most effective shock assault force in the galaxy is now a terrifying collection of savage berserkers and insane, psychotic killing machines that live only to spill blood and take skulls for their master Khorne. Legion Badge The Space Wolves' Legion badge was a stylised, snarling red wolf's head. After their corruption, many Space Wolves Legionaries began incorporating Khorne's stylized skull-rune which is either painted or carved onto their battle-plate. The Space Wolves' Khornate Berserkers are also sometimes seen wearing a variant of their original Legion iconography of a snarling wolf's head superimposed over the eight-pointed Octed (Star of Chaos). Trivia This article was originally authored by Aurelius Rex over on the Bolter & Chainsword forums. All rights are reserved to him. Gallery SW Traitor Varagyr Termi.png|A Chaos-corrupted Varagyr Wolf Guard Terminator elite - Champion of Khorne. Note: Proliferation of macabre trophies taken from fallen opponents. The armour also displays the changing heraldry of the Legion, as the metallic hue of the armour is now covered in places with bloody crimson spray of the Legionary's victims. SW Traitor Deathsworn.png|A Space Wolves Deathsworn Khornate Berseker. Note: Clad in modified Mark III power armour. The helm's distinctive side panels are of unknown function and meaning. It is notable that this Legionary's armour shows few elements once worn proudly by the Legion, most of which has been over-painted blood red or simply allowed to degrade - yet another indication of the Legion's descent into blood-lust and ill-discipline. Category:S Category:Chaos Category:Chaos Space Marines Category:Traitors